Woman's wrapper (àdìrẹ ẹlé̩kọ)
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Object Label
Àdìrẹ is a Yorùbá textile whose patterns are made through resist dyeing. The àdìrẹ technique used to make this wrapper is àdìrẹ ẹlé̩kọ, wherein female artists paint cassava flour paste on fabric, preventing certain areas from soaking in blue indigo dye. This cloth’s name is Olókun, identifiable in part by the motif of a circular “stool” surrounded by “leaves.” As goddess of the sea, Olókun’s domain is the source of wealth, lending the cloth the associated meaning “life is sweet.” Other àdìrẹ employ tie-and-dye techniques (àdìrẹ oníko), where raffia ties hold small stones or seeds in place to cover areas of the fabric during dyeing, resulting in àdìrẹ eléso patterns. One such àdìrẹ oníko was incorporated underneath a panel in the featured egúngún (see photograph).
Caption
Yorùbá , unknown maker's mark. Woman's wrapper (àdìrẹ ẹlé̩kọ), 20th century. Commercial cotton cloth, synthetic indigo dye, 68 5/8 × 78 × 1/16 in. (174.3 × 198.1 × 0.1 cm) mount (when installed): 68 5/8 × 79 1/2 × 3 in. (174.3 × 201.9 × 7.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Frieda and Milton F. Rosenthal, 1990.132.8. No known copyright restrictions
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Title
Woman's wrapper (àdìrẹ ẹlé̩kọ)
Date
20th century
Geography
Place made: Abẹ́òkúta, Nigeria
Medium
Commercial cotton cloth, synthetic indigo dye
Classification
Dimensions
68 5/8 × 78 × 1/16 in. (174.3 × 198.1 × 0.1 cm) mount (when installed): 68 5/8 × 79 1/2 × 3 in. (174.3 × 201.9 × 7.6 cm)
Credit Line
Purchased with funds given by Frieda and Milton F. Rosenthal
Accession Number
1990.132.8
Rights
No known copyright restrictions
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